Tennis | U.S. Open: Serena, Venus both dominant

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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoMike Groll | Associated PressIvan Dodig leans into a return shot in a 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory over No.?27 Fernando Verdasco, who was one of three seeded men’s players to lose.

NEW YORK — Defending champion Serena Williams was so dominant in the first round of the U.S. Open last night, her opponent really needed a hug.

So midway through the second set of Williams’ 6-0, 6-1 victory, Francesca Schiavone wandered behind the baseline, found a ball boy and embraced him.

It was that kind of evening for Schiavone, an often-demonstrative player who is no pushover: She won the 2010 French Open and was the runner-up at that Grand Slam tournament a year later. She has been ranked as high as No. 4 but is 54th this week.

“I knew playing a former Grand Slam champion in the first round was a really, really tough draw,” Williams said, “so I tried to be super-serious.”

All told, the match took only an hour. And it ended right in time, as far as Williams was concerned, because a light rain began to fall just at the conclusion in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The rain became steady enough to postpone the rest of the evening session, including a match between No. 7 Roger Federer and Grega Zemlja.

Williams, the top seed, was nearly perfect, making only eight unforced errors, compiling a 13-3 edge in winners, hitting serves faster than 115 mph and taking the first 10 games.

Williams is seeking her fifth U.S. Open title and 17th Grand Slam title overall. She improved to 61-4 in 2013 and has won eight tournaments.

Earlier in the day, on the same court, Williams’ older sister, Venus, won her first-round match, 6-1, 6-2 against 12th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to talk to her, but I was really happy she did well,” Serena said. “She’s really inspiring to me.”

Venus Williams, who has been limited to 18 matches this year because of a bad back, smacked serves at up to 120 mph, returned superbly and covered the court well enough to hit a handful of swinging volley winners to reach the second round.

Flipkens was not surprised in the least to see Williams play that way. To Flipkens, this was not an upset — no matter what the rankings indicate. Williams, a former world No. 1, is ranked 60th.

“If Venus is there — if she’s fit, if she’s focused — she’s a top-10 player,” Flipkens said. “Everybody who knows a little bit of the game of tennis can see that. Today, she was like a top-10 player.”